Cigarette container



March 6, 1951 G. JOHNSON 2,544,501

CIGARETTE CONTAINER Filed April 11, 1947 I! A I v I 2 J" M 2|./ .1

JNVENTOR. GENE JOHNSON.

[/16 A TTQRNEK Patented Mar. 6, {951 OFFICE CIGARETTE CONTAINER GeneJohnson, Westchester County, N. Y. Application April 11, 1947, serialNo. 740,869

3 Claims. (01. ace-41(2) invention relates to containers suitabletor-cigarettes and is herein disclosed in some detail-as embodied in acardboard box adapted to hold fortycigarettes, to be carried in anordinary clothes pocket, andas adapted to deliver a-single cigaretteat-a time.

The ordinary cigarette package consists of cigarettes held by a paper orother flexible wrapper and is troublesome to open, allows the cigarettesto be easily damaged, especially when only a few remain in the pack, andis in'other ways unsatisfactory.

y Some-cigarettes are packed in fiat cardboard boxes which carryopenable tops hinged along one long edge and preserve the cigarettesfrom crushing, but, when half the cigarettes are removed, allow theothers to rattle around and thus knock out part of their shreds oftobacco, and, moreover, require some attention when extracting onecigarette when only a few' others remain.

To be satisfactory the cardboard boxes must be flat so as to lieinconspicuously in a clothes .pocket, and ordinarily must not bemorethan .two cigarettes thick. They must be so built that the hinged topdoes not easily open by accident,

and must be capable of being produced by automatic machinery. i Forthese and other reasons very many smokers remove all the cigarettes fromthe original pack or box when they open it and transfer the cigarettesto a metal pocket cigarette. case or holder, discarding the box or otheroriginal container. a The foregoing objections and disadvantages ofcigarette packs and boxes arise independently ofLwhether the coveringsare lined with meal foil or other interior facing materialf 'Accordingto the present invention the fore: going and other objections anddisadvantages are overcome, and a container is provided which takes them o a fia Q iscap l of bein cheaply produced andfilledon a very largescale by automatic machinery, and from manyf types of cardboard. a

In the form shown in some detail a fiat box, capable of holding twolayers of cigarettes is provided with abottom hingenear one end, so thatwhen the endof thebottom is depressed, it allows a cigaretteto dropwith; it between the end wall and the hinge, with the result that thedepressed part of the bottom and the end wall, which is carried downwith it, forms an open ended channel carrying a single cigarette. Bytilting the box, the single cigarette drops out sliding endwise.

Then the end of the bottom is pushed up and the box is effectivelyclosed, and will not ordinarily open in a clothes pocket. Thus thecigarettes are safely carried.

In the form shown, the cigarette case also includes a device for feedingthe cigarettes toward the hinged end or for holding them againstrattling around, or to efiect both feeding and holding themlagainstrattling.

- In the form shown, this device includes a belt, which may be ofcellophane, lying along the bottom, from near the hinge, and underlayingall the cigarettes, and carried up and over the last cigarette and thenover all the cigarettes and out through the end above the hinge.

Thus a pull on the belt pulls the cigarettes along toward the hinge, andtends to hold them by reason of friction.

The projecting end of the belt may be torn short, if .desired, along theedge of the stiff top of the box.

The case may include a lid or lids, normally held down but adapted to bereleased to enable the interior of the case to be inspected and thecigarettes tobe pushed along by a finger, if desired.

Other'features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

.Fig. 1 shows the box or container of the present-invention opened outto show the parts normally concealed.

Fig. 2 shows the closed box, indicating in dottedlines how an accessdoor may be opened.

Fig. 3 shows a cigarette falling out when the box is operated to delivera cigarette.

Fig. 4 is a' sectional side view on the line 4-4 of Fi 2.

Fig. .5 is a similar view showing one cigarette about to. fallout.

T In the form of the inventionv illustrated in some detail,'a sheet ofsuitable cardboard forms the bottom'lll of the box, and is scored alonglines Hand l2 where'it bends up to form relatively shallowsides l3 and.I4, and is further scored at 5 and L6 to provide bends for the top I!and overlap l8 which latter bends down and is usually glued to the.sides l3 to form the side of the case.

The carboard is also shown as scored at I9 along the bottom l0, and at20 along the top H, to forr n-flaps' 2| and 22, which turn over and areglued. together to form the unitary end of the box. r

v The bottom It] is further scored at 23 to pro-' vide a delivery devicefor the box. In the form shown, the delivery device includes a flap 24formed by the score 23, cut clear of the sides [3 and I4, and ending ina score 25 forming a secondary flap 26 also cut clear of the sides andadapted to form a movable bottom end of the box; see Fig. 4.

The flap 26 is shown as adapted to be hingedto the top ll, so as'toswing parallel to the bottom l0.

a score 32 at the end of the flap 29, and as glued;

to the inside of the top I! at its edge with the result that the flaps26 and 28 can move-downward in the form of a channel holding acigarette,see Fig. 5, adapted to support the single cigarette clear of the sidel4.

If the box is then tilted on one edge the cigarette slides out easily,the other cigarettes being retained bythe side l3 or the side M,depending on. which way the box is tilted. I

It is found to work thus highly efficiently if the sides [3 and I4 arehigh enough to hold easily two transversely superposed cigarettes,and'the fiap'26 holds one cigaretteonits bottom but only oneas showndiagrammatically in Fig. 5 with the cigarettes spaced for clearness.

Inorder to insure thefreeclom of the cigarettes from jamming and to feedthemtowardthe end 28, if need be, there is shown a pullbelt 34, whichhas been found satisfactory if made of cellophane and about one inchwide.

The belt 34 is shown as lying on the bottom [0, and fastened, as bygluing, nearthe score, 23. The belt 34-underlies all the cigarettes,going as far back as the end 2|, 22, and thus come forward above thecigarettes, and out at 36 through an open space 35 in the flap 3|,between its glued margins.

The top I! is preferably notched just over the space 35 for conveniencein pushing downthe fiap. 29 and, with it, the channel -forming fiaps 26and 28. In the form shown, the top I! isscoredgat :31, 38, 39, 40 ,toprovide accessopenings to enable the I cigarettes to, be pushed, alongby inserting a finger. To facilitate opening,thesegopenings each isshown as providedwith a tab' 4! adapted to be released by pressure,butnormally held by its imperfectly cut perforations so that it normallyforms part of the closed boxwall.

The scored lines 31, 38,539,119, are readily broken to free the areasbetween them to swingon ,the line as hinge.

The whole box is well adaptedto be constructedof any suitable cardboard,even metal lined board, and to be provided with a paper or othercovering fo tightness oriappearance, It is so shaped as to lieeasily andflat inan ordinary clothes pocket.

Having thus described one form of theinvenrtion in some detaiLwhat isclaimed is;

l. A fiat box having a top, a bottom and shallow sides and adapted to110mm: over two superposed layers of cigarettes, the bottom, at one end,being scored along spaced parallel transverselines to provide a firstbottom fiap, a second bottom fiap hinged to the first, said first andsecond bot-- tom flaps being fr ee of the sides so that the secondbottom flap swings downparallel-to the bottom, a top hinge within thetop, a third flap within the top and turning on the top hinge to moveparallel to the first flap, the top hinge beingspaced;inwardly.,fromthen-end of, the box a. distance equal to the width' of; thiegthird fiapand a fourth flap hinged to the third and second flaps to cause them toswing together to form a bottom open-ended channel adapted to deliver asingle-bottom layer cigarette through its open ,end.,

2. A flat box having a top, a bottom and shallow sides and adapted tohold not over two superposed layers of cigarettes, the bottom, at oneend, being scored along spaced parallel transverse lines to provide afirst bottomfiap, a second bottom flap hinged to the first saidfirst andsecond bottom flaps being free ;of the sides so that the second bottomflap swings down-parallel tothe bottom, a top hinge within the top, athird flap 5 within the'top and turningonthe-top-hinge-to move parallelto the firstfiap the top-hinge being spaced inwardly from theend ofthe-box adistance equal to the width-of the third flap and a fourth flaphinged to the'third-and-second flaps to cause them to swing together toform a bottom open-ended channel adapted; to deliver a single bottomlayer. cigarette through-its open end, and a belt attached underthe-cigarettes near the channel flaps and passing ;around-the backcigarettes and forward over thecigarettes, and adapted to be pulledtomove the cigarettes forward.

3. A fiat box having a top, abottom and-shallow sides and adaptedto-hold' not over two superposed layers of" cigarettes, the-bottom; atone, end, being scored, alongspaced pa1alleltransverse lines to providea first-bottom-fiap; a second bottom flap hinged'to thefirst, saidfirstgand second bottom flaps being --fr ee"-;of the sides so that thesecond-bottom fiapswingsdown parallel to the bottom, a top hinge -within--the'top,-a third flap within the top and turning on the top hinge tomove parallel to the first -flap,; the top hinge being spaced inwardlyfromthe end of the box a distance equal to'the width'of thethird flapa'fourth flap hinged to, the third and second fiaps to cause'them toswing-"together-to form a bottom open-ended channel adapted ;to delivera single bottom layer, cigarette through its open end, a top for the-box,and partially perforated lines onthe top aclaptedto bebroken toprovide a hinged section, adapted tobe swung up to inspect the interiorwhere the cigarettes GENE" JOHNSON;

REFERENCES CITED The following, references are .of, record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,718,572 Marcuse June 25,-'l9291,953,418 MacDonald-1 Apr. 3, 1934 2,115,673 I Stompe Apr. 26, 1938

